risky business
by bicpencils
Summary: a collection of oneshots in which the Barians attempt to do mundane human activities.
1. bills

"Humans _pay_ for electricity?"

The incredulous voice was not one normally heard from the usually calm Barian Lord. However, this seemed absolutely ludicrous. First of all, with the terrible conditions back on the Barian world, he didn't want to see electricity for another millennia. Second, what race would come up with such unnecessarily complicated figures other than humans, really? Mizael slammed the papers in his hands onto the desk and looked out the window, up to the night sky. What was it – three in the morning? Too late to be doing things like calculating bills, that was for sure. He could have been doing much more important things, such as collecting Numbers.

Then again, he did offer to aid Durbe in whatever needed to be completed. The leader of the Barian Lords was likely much more used to this – hell, he owned the damned hideout. And keeping it a secret proved to be quite costly. Literally.

It was bad enough that they had to keep up with the expenses of the excess amounts of food that two Barians in particular kept purchasing. Alit and Gilag never seemed to stop eating and, really, was it _that_ fascinating? He'd researched how food was digested and the different types of food, as well. Even worse, Gilag and Alit seemed to be consuming incredibly unhealthy things a large percentage of the time. Either way, he couldn't imagine that something as simple as taking in nutrients could be an actively enjoyable pastime.

Then again, Mizael had never been in the human world long enough to need food, so he wasn't so sure, and it wasn't like he was about to experiment with that.

Still, if there was one thing completely unnecessary, it was the ridiculous math that was calculated for the bills that they had to pay just to keep the BARian alive and thank whatever higher power humans believed in that they didn't make the hideout an _open_ bar. Already, they had to budget themselves financially. Durbe was eventually going to be the death of him, he swore it. The Barian leader was so serious and on task, yet easily fascinated and distracted, and Mizael really wouldn't look up to him as he did if Durbe wasn't such a spectacular duelist.

Perhaps if there was one human beverage that he'd try, it would be the coffee that Durbe would drink nearly every time he was in his human form.

Where the hell was the income even being received from? Sighing in defeat, Mizael sat down and attempted to once again calculate their pay for yet another bill that Durbe had let pile up. And goddamnit, he could have sworn he never had migraines before being a human.


	2. coffee

When Alit pushes a hot mug filled with dark liquid into his hands, Durbe is nothing short of confused.

It hadn't been until very recently that Durbe had needed to participate in activities on Earth more frequently than on the Barian world. He had much to do in terms of not only collecting the Numbers, but also keeping check that their secret had remained…well, secret. And the others weren't quite as capable of completing such a task, what with their constant fascination with human customs. It was ridiculous, really, and more tiring than anything else.

The constant work that he put himself through brought him to passing out more times than one. That was his "sleeping schedule," as he called it. Durbe would stay awake for more than a day at a time and then pass out, perhaps wake up ten hours later, repeat process. As a leader, he was paranoid not only of his opponent's actions, but of the actions of his allies and their well-beings. Not that he didn't trust them. He just wanted to make sure that they were alright, was all.

It didn't entirely justify his unhealthy behavior, though.

That was where his problem lied. He never _needed_ sleep back on the Barian world, but as a human, it was a necessity, something they absolutely had to have for survival. And Durbe wasn't used to that sort of inevitable vulnerability.

Alit looked at him with that same expression, familiarity and admiration mixed with intimidation. He always had that whenever he spoke to Durbe, and the Barian leader never quite understood it. Alit was a free spirit and very rebellious. Despite this, he was reliable and a close comrade. Alit was strangely enough incredibly good with authority figures, completely unbefitting of his personality, and he was much more compassionate and empathetic than he let on, which lead him to recognize his leader's unhealthy behaviors.

"Come on, drink it. It has caffeine in it, and I guess that helps humans stay awake!" He brushed it off as no big deal, but Durbe stared at him incredulously. "You, uh, won't get much done if you're knocked out all the time, so you might as well have it. The crash might be bad, but you'll be awake longer."

After a few moments of glancing back and forth between the mysterious liquid and Alit, Durbe eventually took a small sip. He hesitated slightly before looking back at the other Barian.

"That's quite sharp thinking. Your reasoning is sound." With the most genuine smile that Alit had thus far seen on his face, he continued. "Thank you."


End file.
